Unfair Charges to Account, Advise Please

Hello Community, I've been on both chat and phone with customer service, and they don't address the following problem, so please advise on how I can proceed.

I'm an AdWords newbie who was running a Campaign from a remaining balance of about $35 from an Adwords Promotion (originally $100), when my bank account was charged $50. A customer service manager explained something about my automatic payment schedule and a $200 threshold. I had no idea what he was talking about, given that I had a balance (credit) of $35. Given my frustration, I Canceled the account a few days later, assuming I would be refunded the $50 from the remaining account Balance of $64.21 ($14.21 remaining from promotion). Instead, I have a red banner at the top of the page saying I need to "complete refunds and pay outstanding charges...Fix it" When I click that, this is what I get:

Refund details

You canceled your account on Jul 22, 2017

You have an outstanding balance so your (credit card) will be charged approximately $21.93 within 10 days.

The exact charge could be higher than this estimate if you accrued additional costs that weren’t billed before cancellation.

So it appears I will be charged an additional $21.93, instead of being refunded $50, even though my account Balance is $64.21 (recent $50 charge + $14.21 remaining from original promotion).

Please, what can I do? I'm a YouTube Partner who has always had a good experience with AdSense, but this AdWords dilemma, and the dismissive explanations from customer service, has really soured me from this product. I want my money. Thanks in advance for help.

Unfair Charges to Account, Advise Please

When a AdWords promotional code is added, the terms and conditions (must spend a certain amount, etc.) must be met. If those terms and conditions are not met, the amount will not be credited and any amount due during that promotion will be due by you (not by the promotional credit). If you fully completed the promotional terms and conditions and fully earned the value, it is credited to your account just as if you made a payment. At this point, your account has either a credit or debit. Any debit is pulled from your payment source. Regardless of a credit or debit amount owed, when your account reaches the 30 day period or the account spending threshold (and there is money owned), your payment source is charged. The only way to use up a promotional code and not be charged is to complete the terms and conditions of the promotion and pause the campaigns or cancel the account before the 30 day period ends.

At this point, you can attempt to contact AdWords Support again and hopefully get someone that interacts with you in a friendlier and more helpful way, but refunds are generally not given if performance (clicks, impressions, etc.) happened.

You can also use this form and ask for a explanation of charges. And you can use this form to file a complaint so that your feelings are heard by a different department.

Unfair Charges to Account, Advise Please

When a AdWords promotional code is added, the terms and conditions (must spend a certain amount, etc.) must be met. If those terms and conditions are not met, the amount will not be credited and any amount due during that promotion will be due by you (not by the promotional credit). If you fully completed the promotional terms and conditions and fully earned the value, it is credited to your account just as if you made a payment. At this point, your account has either a credit or debit. Any debit is pulled from your payment source. Regardless of a credit or debit amount owed, when your account reaches the 30 day period or the account spending threshold (and there is money owned), your payment source is charged. The only way to use up a promotional code and not be charged is to complete the terms and conditions of the promotion and pause the campaigns or cancel the account before the 30 day period ends.

At this point, you can attempt to contact AdWords Support again and hopefully get someone that interacts with you in a friendlier and more helpful way, but refunds are generally not given if performance (clicks, impressions, etc.) happened.

You can also use this form and ask for a explanation of charges. And you can use this form to file a complaint so that your feelings are heard by a different department.

Re: Unfair Charges to Account, Advise Please

Thanks James. I'll submit the explanation of charges form and go from there. Had I been notified of the terms of that promotion, and subsequent unwanted withdrawals from my bank account, I never would have dabbled in this. The customer service reps are happy to assist in increasing budget, managing Campaigns, etc., but things get evasive and non-communicative when it comes to a Billing concern/inquiry. Deceptive business practice, in my opinion, and concerning. I'm sure there are laws on making terms of a promotion very clear, before the fact, and not only after charges have been applied and funds automatically withdrawn.

I no longer have the promotional email, but I recall it was pitched as a $100 promotion to try out AdWords. I thought that sounded like fun.

Personally, I have given out and applied hundreds of promotional codes and they always have a full disclaimer about the terms & conditions and that it is not "free" money. They require fully setting up an AdWords account and spending money to get money. But you know how us marketing people can do things... like making a pet monkey sound like the perfect gift for grandma!

Hopefully that hits you with a smile as I intent it to. This community is here to assist and do so with professionalism and care. We never want to hear of a disaster story or of someone using AdWords and feeling as you do. Please do send in your feedback and help the system learn from your personal experience.